‘I made it:’ First generation graduate gives back after life-changing opportunity

Andy Nguyen was on a flight home from a business trip when the realization of how far he had come hit him — from being the first in his family to graduate from high school, to working for one of the world’s top consultancy firms. 

Growing up, he struggled to picture what his future might look like. His mom and dad, Vietnamese immigrants, worked as a seamstress and factory worker in Canada. 

“I think throughout my life I’ve had self doubt because I hadn’t seen anybody in my family in university or work a corporate job,” says Nguyen, who graduated from McMaster’s Integrated Business and Humanities (IBH) Program in the Spring of 2024.   

But that was before Nguyen landed what he calls a life-changing opportunity.  

In the summer of 2021, he started working as a management consultant intern for professional services firm KPMG Canada. Nguyen was part of the first cohort of a Community Development Leadership Program (CDLP) pilot, which was developed to support equity-deserving students for KPMG’s competitive recruitment process.  

CDLP is offered in partnership between KPMG, the charitable organization Empowerment Squared and McMaster’s Access Program in the Student Success Centre.  

Ryan MacDonald, a senior manager in management consulting at KPMG who helped develop the CDLP, says for years he and his colleagues saw how entrenched social networks and educational advantages gave some applicants a competitive advantage. 

Fostering the spark

In 2020, MacDonald approached fellow McMaster graduate Joana Fejzaj, the manager of community development & partnerships at Empowerment Squared, to ask if the Hamilton-based organization would be interested in a pilot project.  

Fejzaj knew it was a great opportunity for the equity-deserving individuals Empowerment Squared works with. “I knew it could change someone’s life,” she says.  

Fejzaj approached Celeste Licorish for help recruiting students. Licorish is the program manager of McMaster’s Access Program, which is designed to remove barriers and create pathways for students from underserved communities. 

Licorish immediately thought of Nguyen, who she met in 2019 when he applied for a job in her office. “Andy showed a spark that was hard to ignore.” 

She got to work preparing Nguyen for the competitive recruitment process with guidance, coaching and mentorship. “Mentorship is crucial. It’s about providing the social capital and insider knowledge that many students lack,” says Licorish.  

Nguyen admits the learning curve was steep. He hadn’t didn’t know what management consulting was when he was first told about the program.  

But his work with Licorish paid off.  

Nguyen would go on to intern at KPMG every summer throughout his undergraduate degree.  

And as of September 2024, Nguyen is a full-time employee at the firm.

The ripple effect

Nguyen says his transformative experience at KPMG gave him confidence in his career prospects, helped him financially and pushed him to realize he had the power to give back to his community.   

Hoping to share what he had learned, Nguyen led the DeGroote Consulting Association, a student-run club at McMaster that gives undergraduates the tools to navigate recruitment processes in the consulting industry.  

He also used his internship experience as a foundation for his senior year capstone project in the IBH program, which delivers a unique blend of business acumen and critical thinking skills to foster socially conscious business leaders.  

Nguyen’s project addressed barriers faced by equity-seeking groups in corporate settings. 

He developed a pitch deck to advocate for KPMG to expand the leadership program, and produced a series of testimonial videos that captured the voices of key partners and illustrated the impact of the program. 

“Andy’s project wasn’t just a reflection of his academic skills but also of his commitment to making a difference,” says associate professor Karen Balcom, who taught Nguyen‘s capstone course. “Seeing students like Andy put their education into practice and drive change reaffirms the value of what we do in the IBH program.”

A spot at the table

Nguyen’s success story is an example of how targeted support and mentorship can help unlock extraordinary potential, says Licorish. “Andy’s transformation was remarkable. He not only gained confidence but also paid it forward by helping others.” 

It’s also a testament to the excellence, prosperity, and mutual benefit achieved through unique partnerships between corporations, academia and community, says Fejzaj.  

“This program is designed to drive excellence by fostering opportunity, removing barriers for equity-deserving groups, and ensuring empathetic leaders are at the decision-making table.” 

Other McMaster students have also benefited from the program. Nguyen is one of four McMaster students to date who have participated in the CDLP. Three have been offered full-time positions, and the fourth recently completed their first year as a summer intern. 

As Nguyen starts his career, he says he’ll continue to make a point of creating time to foster connections with the CDLP participants who come through his office.